A Fantasy Football Review: The 1990 All-Fantasy Team

For this second installment of the last 20 All-Fantasy Football teams we will look back to the year 1990. When I think about the 1990 NFL season three images come to mind.

I remember a sack that Derrick Thomas missed against Dave Krieg of the Seahawks. This was no ordinary missed sack because the Seattle quarterback threw a game winning touchdown on the play, and it would have been sack No. 8 on the day for the Chiefs' linebacker.

Thomas had to settle for seven sacks that game which is still an NFL record, and Chief fans will always remember the one that got away.

I still recall the hustle of Leonard Marshall falling to his hands and knees, getting up, and delivering a massive hit to Joe Montana from behind. This shot resulted in a broken hand, a bruised sternum, cracked ribs, and basically the end of Joe Montana's 49er career.

Of course, most people in Buffalo remember the 1990 season for the way it came to a heartbreaking end. Scott Norwood's wide-right field-goal miss handed the championship over to the Giants, and would be the first of four consecutive Superbowl losses for the Bills franchise.

In 1990, fantasy football was starting to gain popularity. It was getting easier to find fantasy football magazines such as Fantasy Football Indexat your local newsstands, and even local newspapers were beginning to feature fantasy football draft guides.

1990 gave us some memorable fantasy football performances as well. The following is a list of the cream of the crop. Here is the 1990 NFL All-Fantasy roster.

Quarterback

Randall Cunningham (PHI) - 442.8 points.

Randall Cunningham had one of the all time greatest fantasy seasons at quarterback in 1990.

The Eagles' quarterback had 3,466 passing yards and 30 touchdowns through the air. As if that wasn't enough, Cunningham had 942 rushing yards and five more touchdowns on the ground.

1990 gave us a 30-plus touchdown quarterback with nearly 1,000 rushing yards. Take a moment to wrap your mind around those numbers.

Honorable Mention

Warren Moon (HOU) - 419.1 points, Joe Montana (SF) - 336.0 points

Running Backs

Barry Sanders (DET) - 310.4 points

In only his second season, Barry Sanders became the most valuable running back in the NFL to fantasy football owners. He ran for 1,304 yards and 13 touchdowns. Sanders added a career high 480 receiving yards off of 36 catches, and also had three touchdowns through the air.

Thurman Thomas (BUF) - 309.9 points

Only half a point separated the top two fantasy running backs in 1990.

For the second consecutive season, Thurman Thomas was again the second best back in fantasy football. The Bills' ball carrier had 1,297 rushing yards, 49 catches for 532 yards, and 13 total touchdowns.

Just another year for the G.O.A.T. Jerry Rice was once again the top fantasy wide receiver in 1990. This season, Jerry won the equivalent of the triple crown at his position as he led the league in catches, yards, and touchdowns receiving.

Rice grabbed 100 balls for 1,502 yards and 13 scores.

Andre Rison - (ATL) - 262.8 points

Andre Rison began a four year stretch of Pro Bowl caliber play with the Falcons in 1990. He would be one of the most effective and consistent fantasy options in the game snagging at least 10 TD's in each of those seasons.

In this, his second season, Rison had 82 catches for 1208 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Gary Clark - (WAS) - 234.3 points

Due to the fact that Gary Clark, Art Monk, and Ricky Sanders had to all share looks in the Redskins passing game, none of these receivers had a chance to reach their full fantasy potential in the early '90's.

In 1990, though, Monk and Sanders played less of a role and Gary Clark had an All-Fantasy performance. Clark caught 75 balls for 1,112 yards and finished with eight TD's.

For the second straight season Neal Anderson finds himself as the best available fantasy option beyond the top two running backs and top three receivers. The Bears' back again had impressive rushing and receiving numbers.

In 1990, he had 1,078 yards rushing, 42 catches for 484 receiving yards, and 13 total touchdowns.

KICKER

Nick Lowery (KC) - 145.0 points

In 1990 Nick Lowery hit a career high 91.9% of his attempted field goals. He was 28 of 29 inside of 40 yards, and six of eight from 40 or more. Lowery also knocked in 37 of his 38 extra point tries.

Honorable Mention

Chip Lohmiller (WAS) - 140.0 points.

1990 Fantasy Football MVP - Jerry Rice - (SF) - Wide Receiver

Jerry Rice was head and shoulders above all other receivers in the NFL in 1990. There was a 66-point differential between Rice and the second best fantasy receiver in the league that season. That's more than four points a game better than the closest contender.

This is Rice's second All-Fantasy team honor and first Fantasy MVP.

Other Notables

The Oilers "run-and-shoot" offense produced five solid fantasy players in Warren Moon, Lorenzo White, Haywood Jeffries, Drew Hill, and Ernest Givens. All were among the leaders at their positions.

Albert Bentley had one of the greatest fantasy seasons a fullback could dream of with 229 total points. He had 556 rushing yards, 71 catches for 664 receiving, and six total touchdowns.